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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24971185">bathroom haircut</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonQuill907/pseuds/dragonQuill907'>dragonQuill907</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pacific Rim (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Sibling Bonding, lesbian karla gottlieb, self-administered haircuts, so it's like 2006 or whatever, they're both gay we know this, they're like 17 idk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:34:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24971185</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonQuill907/pseuds/dragonQuill907</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It wouldn’t be the first time Hermann had caught her crying on the floor of their shared bathroom, but Karla didn’t care. Hermann always wanted to help, always looked for a solution. Except there was no solution this time.</p><p>Or: Karla cuts her hair</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermann Gottlieb &amp; Karla Gottlieb</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>bathroom haircut</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>idk not beta'd or anything! This just popped into my head and I wanted to write it!! so!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Karla flinched away from the sharp knock at the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go away, Hermann.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” he replied. “I can hear you crying in there. Tell me what’s wrong.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wouldn’t be the first time Hermann had caught her crying on the floor of their shared bathroom, but Karla didn’t care. Hermann always wanted to help, always looked for a solution. Except there was no solution this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first time he caught her was when her favorite character in </span>
  <em>
    <span>Harry Potter</span>
  </em>
  <span> died, and Hermann had brought her some Oreos from the cupboard and told her to buck up. He hadn’t even made fun of her for it like Bastien did when he saw how red her eyes were.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll pick the lock if you don’t let me in. You know I can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second time was a year after their mother passed, and Karla was bleeding and it wouldn’t stop, and Hermann walked to the nearest convenience store almost a mile away just to buy her pads and midol.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s nothing you can do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me try anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla thought back to the scissors on the counter and the hair in the sink, and she almost laughed. “You can’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The third time, she’d almost failed her biology class, and she knew her father well enough to be more than a little nervous about his reaction. There wasn’t much he could do in the way of softening their father’s anger, but Hermann had sat on the edge of the bathtub and offered what comfort he could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Father is going to disown me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It can’t be that bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Open the door, Karla. Let me help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a sigh, Karla reached over and unlocked the bathroom door. Slowly, as if not to startle her, Hermann stepped into the room. The moment he saw her, he froze in place.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla had never seen her brother look so shocked. His eyes went wide, but he recovered quickly, ushering her towards the toilet seat. Karla went without a struggle, sitting heavily on its surface as Hermann examined her hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What used to be long, soft, thick waves of dark hair was completely destroyed. Karla’s hair hung in choppy segments around and in front of her face. Some brushed her ears while others just touched her chin. It was horrible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The more Hermann looked, the more Karla wanted to cry. If she couldn’t handle Hermann’s reaction, there was no way she’d survive her father’s. She sniffled, waiting for Hermann to speak.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re lucky you have mother’s hair,” Hermann said finally. “It’ll grow back fast, if you want it to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then at least it’ll look good short.” Hermann picked up the scissors Karla had abandoned next to the sink. “I’ll help you fix it if you tell me why you cut it in the first place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla nodded, and Hermann took her seat on the toilet, stretching his leg out in front of him. Karla sat obediently on the floor with her back to him, hands restless in her lap. The sound of Hermann cutting away at her hair made her heart jump at every snip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t look like myself,” she said. “I look in the mirror and it’s not </span>
  <em>
    <span>me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean? You’ve had long hair as long as I can remember.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I’ve been envious of yours since </span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> can remember,” Karla said. “I thought that’s what was wrong. But it didn’t work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, you did a rather poor job of it, to be fair,” Hermann quipped. “What should I do with the back, then, if you like mine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As short as you can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermann hummed in response, snipping away. Karla closed her eyes. Anger started swirling in her chest again, burning her lungs and her throat as she spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just want it gone. I hate it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla groaned and put her head in her hands, ignoring Hermann’s sound of protest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hate it. I hate how much other people like it. Everyone’s always saying how pretty it is or comparing me to Mother,” Karla explained. “It makes me feel… </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad.</span>
  </em>
  <span> How can people like something about me that I hate so much?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with having nice hair?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not just nice. It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>pretty,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hermann. I’m not pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course you are.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t patronize me,” Karla snapped. “Just keep cutting.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla was sure Hermann rolled his eyes. “I’d get on with it if you could sit still,” he said. “Now stop complaining and let me work.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was silent for a while as Hermann snipped away. Small chunks of hair fell around her shoulders, pricking the back of her neck. It was a relief, honestly. Karla could feel herself getting lighter, sitting taller. Cutting her hair might have been the best decision she’d ever made, even if it was a crime of passion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t be able to help you with Father,” Hermann said. Karla already knew that. “He’ll be angry. You don’t look like Mother anymore.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He doesn’t care about Mother. He’ll propose to Bastien’s nanny before the year is out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermann let out a little chuckle, and Karla smiled. “True. There’s a chance he won’t even notice anything is different. You know how much he cares about our lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He cares how we make him look.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Explains why he’s given up on me,” Hermann said, though it wasn’t without humor. “It is rather nice to be outside his idea of perfection, though I’m sure I’ve just had time to get used to it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s different. That’s not your fault.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I wouldn’t be within his favor for long. Turn around, let me get your front.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla did as she was told, staring up at Hermann with tired eyes. He examined her hair again before pointing her towards the mirror.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if I can help you with this part,” he said. “I don’t know what you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla was silent, enthralled by the person looking back at her in the mirror. Her shoulders, so often covered with thick waves, were completely exposed. The hair on the back and sides of her head was close-cropped, not shaved but long enough that she could run her fingers through it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermann handed her the scissors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you look like?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla shrugged. “I don’t know. This is a lot better.” She turned to Hermann and narrowed her eyes. “Are you happy with who you are?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hermann shrugged too. “There’s not much I’d change.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m happy for you then.” Karla trimmed her hair to one length and pushed it all to one side of her head. She frowned at herself in the mirror and turned to her brother. “What do you think?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you should get it cut professionally,” Hermann said, “but you look… lighter. I hope for your sake Father doesn’t mourn the loss of his perfect daughter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla scoffed. “I was hardly perfect before this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It was easy to pretend you were.” Hermann hesitated, looking Karla up and down from her torn-up jeans to her crewneck sweater. “Well, whoever you turn out to be, you don’t have to worry about me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll always worry about you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what I mean.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Karla nodded. “Yeah. You don’t have to worry about me either, Hermann.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Leave a comment or kudos if you liked it!</p><p>I've recently fallen in love with Karla and Vanessa!! Lesbian Content :)</p><p>crossposted on my tumblr <a href="https://kingeiszler.tumblr.com/">kingeiszler</a>!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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